


A Challenge, A Chance

by bloodplums



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, extremely self indulgent, mature for language, probably extremely cliche
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26302423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodplums/pseuds/bloodplums
Summary: Minhyuk wants to stop being a coward and just shoot his shot. Kihyun, as always, is one step ahead of him.
Relationships: Lee Minhyuk/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	A Challenge, A Chance

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very rusty, and this is probably cliche as hell, so please forgive me. I wrote this in a frenzy in an attempt to breathe life into this tag. This work is inspired by that one local university event (if you know, you know).

**University Student Council** _1h_

“The annual week-long university fair begins exactly a month from now! Have you already asked your date? ;) If you haven’t, we have a little treat for you!

Ask your date out by tagging them on this post, and get a chance to win two tickets for the university concert on Valentine’s Day! You can leave a message if you want, or you can just tag them and let them comprehend for themselves — just shoot your shot!

This giveaway runs until the end of the month. But if you get rejected, don’t worry! We’re sure the concert will help ease your broken heart. See you!”

Minhyuk kept staring at the post on the university council’s official page. It was just posted an hour ago, but there were already over a thousand comments. Surely, at least around 50% of the student population will have commented on this post by the end of the month — everybody wants free tickets, and everybody wants a reason to confess. He scoffs but bites his lip as he refreshes the page. There are around 1300 comments now…

If he was being honest, the post resonated with him. _Just shoot your shot_. For the third year now, Minhyuk was going to ask Kihyun to go with him to the concert. As his best friend, of course. Kihyun would be busy with student council duties for the entire week, but he’d still watch the concert with him. Since his best friend was already part of the council last year, Minhyuk had the privilege of standing near the stage. When the fireworks started, though, he couldn’t take his eyes off Kihyun anymore. He nearly lost it.

With a sigh, Minhyuk locks his phone and rolls in his bed. He at least wanted to stop being a chicken. (Then again, Kihyun loves chicken, so maybe being a chicken isn’t that bad?) Should he just tag Kihyun on that post? But Kihyun was part of the student council. God, he probably even has access to that page. What if he gets teased? Worse, what if he gets rejected? He’s not ready for an awkward Valentine’s with his best friend. Minhyuk huffs. Maybe he’ll just ask his second best friend tomorrow.

Despite Kihyun’s busy schedule, Minhyuk managed to trap him for lunch with Hyungwon, his second best friend, and the two were now waiting for the former in the arts building cafeteria. As soon as Minhyuk spots Kihyun’s newly-dyed hair, he flinches. The little shit didn’t even think to tell his best friend that he’d dye his hair. When Minhyuk saw him for their shared Philosophy of a Person class that morning, he almost had a heart attack.

“Why are you being like that?”

“Like what?”

“Being all suspicious.”

“I’m not.”

Hyungwon squints at him. “Whatever you say.”

Minhyuk squints back and gives him a kick before Kihyun reaches their table. Hyungwon is glaring at him now, and Kihyun raises an eyebrow, but Minhyuk just grins at his best friend.

Kihyun sighs as he sits beside him, but there’s an amused quirk to his lips before it gives way to a pout. “I’m starving. What did you get me?”

Minhyuk flinches again and curses the gods for making Kihyun, quite frankly, irresistible. “I got you a sausage and bacon flatbread. I’m sorry, they didn’t have anything chicken today.”

“That’s all right, silly.” Kihyun laughs, and Minhyuk’s head feels light. “Let’s eat.”

There wasn’t plenty to catch up on since the three of them saw each other that morning, but Hyungwon now has the time to continue his story about his gig. 

“Hey, speaking of,” Kihyun pipes up, “Do you want to DJ for the fair, Wonnie?”

Hyungwon blinks. “What?”

Kihyun smiles. “You should DJ for the fair. On the concert. Before the bands perform. I’ll put you on the lineup.”

“Holy— are you serious, Kihyun?”

“Absolutely. We need opening acts. I told them I knew a good DJ, and I showed them some of the videos I took of you at your gigs. The rest of the organizers approve, so now I just actually need you to agree. Sorry I didn’t tell you first.” Kihyun’s grin was sheepish now, but Hyungwon looks more awake than ever. Even Minhyuk can’t help but stare in awe.

It takes a few beats for Hyungwon to fully process what Kihyun just said, but when he finally does, his eyes practically sparkle. “Wow, Ki… I don’t know what to say. But of course I’d do it.”

“Great!” Kihyun beams, and Mihyuk can’t stop himself from breaking into a full grin. “Maybe you can come with me to the office, then? So we can get all the technicalities sorted out? What time does your last class end?”

Hyungwon nods. “It ends at 4:30. I’ll just go to the university council office?”

“Sounds great!” Kihyun is still smiling at Hyungwon, but then, he turns to Minhyuk, and the latter almost stops breathing.

Minhyuk clears his throat and offers what he hopes looks like a genuine smile, because despite feeling that weird thing in his chest again, he also feels soft about the fact that Kihyun did that for Hyungwon. “Wow, Ki, that’s amazing. You’re a really good friend, and I really mean it. No sarcasm whatsoever.”

Kihyun laughs, and Hyungwon agrees, nodding. “He’s right, Ki. This means a lot to me. Thank you.”

“You deserve it, Won. You’re really an amazing DJ. And consider this as my early birthday present—or late? Because I actually told you early, but the performance isn’t until next month.” Kihyun shrugs, but he’s still smiling.

Hyungwon’s birthday. It’s in two days. Minhyuk hasn’t even bought his present. He really should get to that.

“Kihyun…” Hyungwon starts, but before things become emotional, Minhyuk is already pulling both of them into a hug.

“Group hug!” Minhyuk practically squishes his friends. After a couple of protests, he lets go with a satisfied grin. 

Hyungwon attempts to wrestle him, and Kihyun just watches them with an amused smile before remembering something. “Oh! Did you guys see the post on the council’s page?”

“Which one? The ‘tag who you want to go with’ one?” Hyungwon helpfully supplies, and Minhyuk gulps. Hyungwon side-eyes him.

“Yeah! That one! What did you guys think?”

“Oh! That one!” Minhyuk jumps in, hoping to not seem suspicious at all. “I saw it last night. Looks like it gained lots of attention quickly! That’s good, right?”

Kihyun nods and hums. “Do you think it’s a good idea? Seungwan, Jihoon, and I came up with that.”

Minhyuk had trouble schooling his expression into neutrality. _Kihyun helped come up with something as cheesy as that?_

Kihyun scoffs, and Hyungwon snickers. Oops, he didn’t realize he had said that out loud.

“Excuse you.” His best friend scrunches his nose at him. “I am capable of thinking of something like that, thank you very much.”

“Yeah?” Minhyuk challenges because he’s childish, and he doesn’t want Kihyun to see through him. “You think you’re brave enough to comment on that post, Yoo Kihyun?”

And Kihyun — that little shit — just smirks at him. “You underestimate me, Lee Minhyuk.”

  
  


“Okay, spill. What was that all about?”

“What was what all about?”

Hyungwon rolls his eyes so hard, Minhyuk practically feels it. “Don’t try to act innocent on me. That. During lunch. The pining. The sexual tension.”

“The _what_?!” Minhyuk practically shrieks, and Hyungwon sighs when other students give them a judging look.

“I swear to god, Minhyuk, when will you ever not be loud?”

Minhyuk cackles (okay, maybe he is a little shit too— but Kihyun is till smaller). “When they take away my vocal chords, Wonnie.”

Hyungwon scoffs. “I’m sure you’ll still find a way to be loud even then.”

“You know what? You’re right. You’ll just have to buy noise-cancelling headphones.” Minhyuk laughs.

Hyungwon kicks his leg. “Seriously, Min. What’s up?”

Minhyuk pretends he didn’t hear anything and walks ahead. But he could feel Hyungwon’s gaze drilling holes at the back of his head, so he eventually stops and waits for Hyungwon to catch up to him. When Hyungwon does, he sighs.

“You’re so dramatic, Min. Spill.”

“I’m not dramatic,” Minhyuk huffs. “It’s a genuine, hamster-sized problem.” Hyungwon just stares at him, so he sighs again before continuing. “Remember the post Kihyun brought up earlier? The one on the university council’s page?”

“What about that?”

“Well, you see… I was thinking…” Minhyuk gulps.

“Min, seriously? You were thinking of tagging Kihyun on that post?”

Minhyuk looks at his friend and scrunches his nose. “You think it’s ridiculous.”

“No, I don’t.” Hyungwon pats his back. “But you just exposed yourself that you were thinking of tagging Ki.” Minhyuk gapes at Hyungwon, and the latter smirks. “And now that you know Kihyun was one of the people who came up with that post, _you_ think it’s ridiculous.”

“Fine, you caught me redhanded,” Minhyuk whines and koala-clings onto Hyungwon’s arm. “It is ridiculous. Kihyun has access to that page, right? What if we get teased to no end? What if he rejects me? What if he just deletes the comment?”

It was now Hyungwon’s turn to sigh, but he pats Minhyuk’s head. “There, there. He won’t do that. You sound like you haven’t known Kihyun for years. He won’t hurt you, Min.”

“I know he doesn’t want to, Wonnie, but that doesn’t mean he won’t. What if he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Please. With all that sexual tension? You two might as well—” 

“Wonnie!” Minhyuk shrieks and covers Hyungwon’s mouth. “Don’t say that!”

“Fine, fine! Geez. Since when did you start pretending to be innocent? I’m just saying. I’m pretty sure Kihyun feels the same way about you. I’m actually wondering why he hasn’t made a move yet.”

“Don’t get my hopes up, Wonnie.” Minhyuk mock-sniffs, and Hyungwon scoffs again.

“You two are truly dumb and dumber. Whatever you do, just ask him as your _more-than-a-best-friend_ date, Min. I swear you’ve been pining for more than a year now—”

Minhyuk sputters. “Excuse me! I do not pine!”

Hyungwon can’t help but keep rolling his eyes. “Yeah, and I’m not tall.”

Minhyuk gasps — okay, maybe he is a _little_ dramatic — and Hyungwon elbows him. “Stop hurting me! Will you let me crash your place and eat all your food if Kihyun rejects me?”

“You’re ridiculous.” Hyungwon elbows him again, but lightly this time. “Of course I will. But he won’t reject you. Just do it, Min.”

Minhyuk doesn’t know how many hours he’s spent hunched over his desk, trying to finish his Painting 201 requirement, but when he sees Kihyun’s name flash on his screen, he almost jumps. _That’s the third time today, Yoo Kihyun. Damn it._

“Ki? Why are you calling? What time is it?”

“I— You don’t even know what time it is? It’s already half past midnight, Min.”

Minhyuk laughs nervously when he realizes that he’s spent almost five hours on his painting. “Sorry, Ki. We have a requirement for painting. I didn’t realize the time.”

He hears Kihyun sigh. “I figured. You weren’t answering my texts. Did you even have dinner?”

It sounds like Kihyun is scolding him, but that’s not why his throat feels dry. “Yeah, I did. Don’t worry.” Minhyuk tries to sound cheerful. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your texts. Was it urgent?”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.” Kihyun sounds sweet now, and Minhyuk’s chest feels weird again. “I’m free tomorrow, so I wanted to ask if you want to celebrate Hyungwon’s birthday in advance. I already asked him. He said we could go see a movie.”

Minhyuk smiles. Kihyun was always one step ahead of him. “That sounds good. I’m up for it.” 

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow, Min. Don’t sleep too late, hmm? I’ll walk you home after the movie so I can see your painting.”

Minhyuk gulps and holds his phone a little tighter. “All right. Maybe you can give me a few suggestions. Goodnight, Ki. Dream of me.” He laughs despite himself, but it’s terrifying how much he hopes.

Kihyun snorts, but he sounds amused when he replies. “Goodnight, Min. You’ll have a better dream because you’ll dream of me.”

Kihyun hangs up before Minhyuk could even respond, and now he’s left staring into space, still clutching his phone. “Damn it, Yoo Kihyun,” he grumbles to himself and stands up to prepare for bed.

It takes him around twenty minutes to freshen up and get comfortable, but he still feels restless. Minhyuk sighs and grabs his phone, pulling up the university student council’s page from his searches.

> _@Yoo Kihyun hey, i know this sounds awkward considering that you were one of the people who came up with this post but… will you go to the concert with me as more than a friend?_

Minhyuk reads what he’s typed and physically cringes. That actually is awkward. He deletes it and starts typing again…

> _@Yoo Kihyun, i know i’m difficult, but i’m your difficult. go to the concert with me?_

Minhyuk laughs. No, that’s terrible. Kihyun would actually block him.

> _@Yoo Kihyun, we’ve been best friends for twelve years now. i still remember when you first moved into our neighborhood and i bothered you until you couldn’t get rid of me. we’ve been attending the university concert for two years now, too. but this year… well, i realized that i don’t want to get rid of you. ever. so, will you be my date this valentine’s?_

Minhyuk sighs. Was that too much information? What would Kihyun feel if he exposed them online like that? But then again, Kihyun might not even see it. There were too many comments now. How can they even pick the winners at this rate? Is someone reading everything, or will the winner be randomly generated?

He tries typing again but eventually gives up, locking his phone and draping his arm over his eyes. Minhyuk falls asleep thinking about how nice it must feel to hold Kihyun’s hand, and he dreams about the warmth of Kihyun’s voice as they both sing along with the bands.

> _@Yoo Kihyun we’ve known each other for a long time now, but i’ve only realized this lately. i like you so much, it’s terrifying._


End file.
